Subject: HISTORY OF CHINA AND JAPAN 1840-1949 Credits: 4 SYLLABUS Society, Economy and Polity Land and People (East Asia), Society and Polity: China, Society and Polity: Japan, Religion and Culture: China and Japan, Traditional Economy: China and Japan Western Imperialism The Opium Wars in China, The Unequal Treaty System in China, Japan and the West (Up to the Meiji Restoration) Japan: Transition to Modernization Decline of Feudalism and the Meiji Restoration, Modernization in Japan-1, Modernization in Japan-2, Modernization in Japan-3 Rebellions, Reforms and Revolution Taiping Uprising, Boxer Rebellion, Self Strengthening Movement and Hundred Days Reforms, Political Reforms in Japan, The Chinese Revolution of 1911 Foreign Relations Meiji Japan -1, Meiji Japan – II, Japan and World War -1, China and World War -1 Post World War-I-Japan Rise of Political Parties, Rise of Militarism, Japanese Imperialism upto Second World War, Post World War-I Economy, Japan After World War-II Post-Revolutionary China, 1911-21 Post-Revolutionary Developments, 1911-19, Cultural Movement, Foreign Investment and Rise of the New Class, Rise of Nationalism Communist Movement in china 1921-49 Formation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), United Front, Kiangsi Soviet Experience, CPC and the War with Japan,The Chinese Revolution Suggested Readings 1. Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Kwang-ching Liu, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Cambridge University Press 2. Jonathan Fenby, The Penguin History Of Modern China: The Fall And Rise Of A Great Power, 1850, Allen Lane 3. Andrew Gordon, The Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present, Oxford University Press 4. Kenneth G. Henshall, A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower, Palgrave Macmillan CHAPTER 1 Society, Economy and Polity STRUCTURE Learning objectives Land and people (east Asia) Society and polity: China Society and polity: Japan Religion and culture: China and Japan Traditional economy: China and Japan Review questions LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Know about the geographical location of South-east Asia. Know about the basic character of traditional Chinese society and its main social divisions. Know about the basic structure of pre-modem Japan and its main social divisions. Understand the major religions and religious ideas during the classical period in China and Japan, Know about the components of traditional Chinese economy. Know about the process of economic development in traditional Japan, LAND AND PEOPLE (EAST ASIA) East Asia: In the Context of Legroom and Time East Asia as an area may be defined in conditions of sub-continental proportions. It belongs to a culture of general origin. This cultural aspect becomes a binding force in the area which displays a unique combination in its social history, character, and thinking. When East Asia is visualized from the point of view of being a sub-continent, countries like China and Japan become the focus of revise because of the dominant role played through them. Though, this does not mean that Korea or other countries had no role to play. To understand East Asia in totality we necessity take into explanation its temporal and spatial development. This exercise will help us in answering the question whether this area has a culture of its own or is influenced from outside. One can distinguish a number of phases in the development of civilizations. Many ancient river valley civilizations appeared independently in several regions and recognized a well-defined culture. Slowly humans witnessed the growth of an ethos, a culture, and a social order which confirmed to a unique cultural mould. This culture gave expression to their civilized identity. Throughout the first thousand years of the present era these centers of an advanced civilization extended their culture to what we call today South China, Korea, and Japan. We also discover that the culture of the Indo-Gangetic area spread through two routes in East Asia: Through Central Asia to China and then to Korea and Japan, and Through sea routes to other countries of South-East Asia and countries like China and Japan. Through these growths the people were able to socially conceive their identity and describe their connection in the world as a whole. Geographical and cultural' boundaries also served to divide and accentuate differences. Situating East Asia in the Broader Local Context The eastern area of Asia extends from the Bering Straits on the Arctic Circle to as distant southwards as the Malayan Archipelago. It is quite hard to demonstrate any scrupulous geographical unity for this area which is of continental proportions. The area can be defined into three broad categories: Eastern Peninsular region, The area of the south-east, and A central mainland area. In the first of these, mountain ranges flanking the coast extend southwards from the Bering Strait as distant as the South-west comer of the sea of Okhotsk. These ranges serve to restrict access to the land behind them and confine maritime power to a narrow coastal strip. There are no extensive stretches of low land country and approximately every natural feature of the area imposes severe hardships on the people. The winter is extensive and the weather harsh. The rising season is short and in winter the ground freezes to a considerable depth. All these natural characteristics of this area provide it a distinctive identity of its own. East Asia in a broader local context comprises South-east Asia as well. Keeping in view the geographical linkages, linguistic connections, and cultural values the area emerges as a greater part of the Asian continent. In racial conditions East Asia becomes the habitat of Mongoloid humans and in the cultural sphere it belongs to a civilization which is rooted in that of ancient China. The race, color, religion, and civilization allow this East Asian area to expand its power to the outside world especially in the context of South-east Asia and Central Asia. Therefore, in this area dealings of kinship and affinity were recognized in a broader local context. Specificity of the Area The central area of East Asia has an entirely dissimilar structural character from the lands that lie to north and south. It consists of a vast expanse bounded through the coast stretching inland for some 1750 km and adjoining Central Asia beside its full length. To the north and highlands from the Great Khingan as distant as the Taihang Shan and presently north of the Hwang-Ho spot off the coastal region from northern Central Asia. The mountain ranges of the Tibetan border form its boundary with the high country of Central Asia to the South. Geographically recent upheavals beside the continental margin separate the northern region from the Sea of Japan to the east. The central mainland area is the only one in which big river systems have urbanized such as the Amur, the Hwang-Ho, and the Yangtze. These river valleys extend distant back through this outer area into Central Asia. In more specific conditions, East Asia as an area comprises the eastern edges of Asia and several adjacent regions like Eastern Siberia, China, the Mongolian People‘s Republic, North and South Korea and Japan. It may also contain South-east Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula, and the Indian Sub-continent. Though, here we are taking into explanation mainly countries like China and Japan. Land and Environment Though this outer area of East Asia extends in excess of thirty-five degrees of latitude from north, north-east to south-south-west, on the whole it symbolizes a morphological Unit. The valleys of the Amur and Hwang-Ho provide access through the northern part of the Central Asian marginal scrap and there are passes from west to east in excess of the high country of Jehol. But the lofty continental plateau of Tibet is a very hard country to traverse as one has to skirt it either through following the Hwang-Ho or through crossing the plateau to the south of the numerous river gorges. As the east-west structural rows are less demarcated than the succession of rising stages aligned north-south, it is often more easy to pass from north to south of this area than from east to west. For instance, the river Duzgari flows out northwards from Central Manchuria to the low-lying reaches of the Amur while at Shahhaikwan there is an opening southwards to the north China plain which merges to the South-east with the plain of the Yangtze while further West, there are methods on either face of the Hwaiyang and Taipieh Shan that lead to the Tung Ting and Poyang basins. In a few regions of great East-West river systems and natural north-south routes, communication has become relatively easier. In the middle of these regions, the area where Hwang-Ho flows out into the north China plain and the lowland Yangtze plain are the mainly urbanized in conditions of communication. Morphologically, this outer land mass of Central-east Asia possesses vital characteristics of both the margin and the interior of the continent. The interaction flanked by centre and margin is typically featured of the East Asia. Geographically, Japan remained relatively in accessible in the area. Japan has a temperate climate conditioned through continent wind and climatic patterns. The Japanese islands stretch in an arc which causes the cool and temperate areas in the North of Hokkaido to the semi-tropical climate of the southern Rynkya Islands. A warm current, flowing up the east and west coast reduces the effect of the Asian continental system but snowfalls are severe on Hokkaido and the western face of Honshu. Almost seventy-five per cent of the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu are mountainous.